Going coed called necessary for Chatham University's survival

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The president of a western Pennsylvania university that only admits women to its undergraduate college says going coed is necessary to the survival of the 145-year-old institution.

Chatham University president Esther Barazzone told more than 100 skeptical alumnae and others Wednesday night that that income from growing graduate programs increasingly must be used to offset losses in the undergraduate women's college.

She said declining enrollment and contributions combined with increasing costs mean "Chatham College for Women needs to change in order to preserve our mission to women."

The undergraduate college was founded as the Pennsylvania Female College in 1869. Officials say the freshman class has shrunk nearly 50 percent since 2008, and a college that once had more than 700 students could have fewer than 320 within five years.

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